Inmate found dead in Menard prison cell identified

An inmate found dead in his cell in a maximum-security prison in southwestern Illinois was serving a 20-year sentence on a sexual assault conviction out of Cook County.

An inmate found dead in his cell in a maximum-security prison in southwestern Illinois was serving a 20-year sentence on a sexual assault conviction out of Cook County.

Randolph County Coroner Randy Dudenbostel has identified the man as 35-year-old William Crowder. His body was found Tuesday night in Menard Correctional Center's segregation unit. The prison is near Chester, about 60 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Dudenbostel tells the (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan that the results of an autopsy performed Thursday aren't expected for weeks.

Crowder was the third Menard inmate to die recently under suspicious circumstances. The deaths so far have resulted in murder charges against one former Menard prisoner.